Music

Following the demise of the late, lamented G.L.O.S.S., New York duo PWR BTTM is a strong contender for the title of most visible — and thus most important — queer punk band in America. Mixing rock-duo slop with drunk-Beatles hooks and heart-on-sleeve (but mercifully unaffected) lyrics, this is pop punk that doesn’t sacrifice pop for the punk, or vice versa. Your queer buddies — and some of your straight buddies too — may be bugging you about this band for a long time.

In very different ways, concerts this month take listeners on a sentimental journey into the past. The Thursday, Nov. 3, concert at The Shedd features Bill Frisell gazing wistfully back at his boomer childhood. The Seattle guitarist and his excellent band (fellow Seattle star violist Eyvind Kang, singer Petra Haden — best known for her work with her late dad, jazz bass legend Charlie Haden — drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Thomas Morgan) play music from the movies (To Kill A Mockingbird, Once Upon A Time In the West, The Godfather, etc.) and TV shows (Bonanza and others).

Cherub (an electro-indie band, not a naked angel baby) made me a little weary at first listen. It’s a group of dudes that seem like unruly, rich suburban kids — but don’t judge a bro by his neon tee. Cherub provides a breath of funky fresh air if you’re in the mood to dance away a night of electro-pop debauchery.

Pop-punk played a big role in a majority of millennials’ childhoods. From moshing at the Vans Warped Tour to staying dedicated to the fact that being “scene” or “emo” (or whatever else you want to call it) as a teenager was not a phase — bands like Blink-182, Fall Out Boy or New Found Glory probably filled some space in your life.

The alt-country duo HoneyHoney may seem like a basic pair of guitar-wieldin’ country youngins, but after a decade of jamming together, the two have cultivated a dark dynamic that keeps you hooked on their gritty yet graceful sound.

Music writers constantly pester bands with the very question many musicians struggle to answer: “Tell me, in words, what your band sounds like.”

Nevertheless, King Mike, bassist with New Jersey trio Screaming Females, has one of the best responses to this inquiry this music writer has heard: “Doo doo doo doo bum bum bum bum,” Mike writes via email.

In the midst of an election, despicable disenfranchisement reigns supreme. It is tempting to give up altogether, pack our bags and move to an island so remote that silence becomes the new governing body. For many Americans, casting a vote on Nov. 8 will feel pointless, like screaming into a fucking vacuum.

Thankfully, legendary punk-rock powerhouse Bad Religion is coming to town, and wants to remind you that your voice matters.

The brilliant banter between Beatrice and Benedict in Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, one of theater’s most entertaining duets, seems ideal for a musical setting. Sure enough, French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz, who created the trailblazing Fantastic Symphony and other colorful orchestral works, wrote one (including the libretto, which adds some characters and subplots and jettisons others) in 1862.

There’s a ghost-like quality to Marissa Nadler’s 2016 release Bury Your Name that’s perfect for fall and winter in Eugene. Throughout the record, the strings of her acoustic guitar are like brittle icicles while the sound of violins envelops the music like breath on a cold morning. And Nadler’s murmuring voice, trapped in an echo box, quivers and quakes.

Mainstream music has fallen prey to a habit of being short, sweet and shallow. Nahko and Medicine for the People, the multi-cultural music collective that always makes time for Eugene, slows things down with elaborate melodies, lengthy songs and lyrics that dig into an emotional narrative of life’s shitty times.

A great jazz keyboard-and-drum duo arrives at Sam Bond’s Garage Oct. 13: Matt Chamberlain is well known for drumming with jazz stars like Bill Frisell, Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau, along with pop singers like David Bowie, Fiona Apple and Morrissey. He and keyboardist Brian Haas, who leads the groovy Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, deliver strutting 21st-century jazz-funk on their new album Prometheus Risen.

Xylouris White is the sound of two people making music in a room. Person number one is Jim White of well-known Australian experimental rock trio Dirty Three. Person two is George Xylouris, one of Crete’s most beloved musicians, on vocals and lute.

Best known for his Cherry Blossom Musical Arts productions with partner and singer Nancy Wood, Eugene composer Paul Safar was named 2013 Oregon Composer of the Year by the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA) and this summer completed a prestigious composition residency in Alaska.

No doubt Detroit rapper Danny Brown likes to party, evidenced by tracks like “Blunt After Blunt,” “Smokin & Drinkin” and “Die Like A Rockstar.” With an increasing fan base and his fourth studio album just released Sept. 30, it seems like the 35-year-old has no plans of halting the fun bus anytime soon.

Local hardcore punk band Novelas knocks the patches off a typically white-bro dominated scene. The band brings a femme aesthetic, dad jeans and luscious emotional melodies to the table, and they’re returning to Eugene’s music world with gusto after a six-month hiatus. Get out your lipstick, grrrls.